In September, ageing UXO was highlighted as a \u201cmultidimensional threat to sovereignty, human security, environment and economic development\u201d by Pacific Island leaders<\/a> during their annual summit held in Honiara, the Solomon Islands\u2019 capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maeverlyn Pitanoe would agree with that. Four years ago, she was with a church youth group organizing a fundraising event in Honiara.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe wanted to raise some funds by selling boxes of locally cooked food,\u201d Pitanoe, the 53-year-old youth mentor told IPS. Large holes were dug in the ground and fires lit to make ovens for cooking. Late in the day, Pitanoe and two youths, aged in their 30s, had been cooking for several hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe were standing around the pot on the fire. I was putting the cabbage into the hot boiling water as the two boys held the pot from both ends,\u201d Pitanoe recounted. \u201cThen the bomb exploded on us from under the pot. The boys, I can see them rolling down the hill, struggling to pull their legs together because it blasted their legs. I was thrown backwards, then I realised I was twisting, like there was a whirlwind throwing me around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maeverlyn Pitanoe. Credit: Bomb Free Solomon Islands-Honiara 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both young men died within a week following the incident. One left behind a wife, who was also injured, and four children. Pitanoe, who is married with a family, lost fingers on her hand and spent nearly two months in hospital being treated for injuries to her legs, thighs and abdomen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat happened to me has been very, very devastating and it has changed my life and my family\u2019s life one hundred percent. I used to have a very free life, but after the accident I don\u2019t feel free,\u201d she said, explaining her anxiety now of going out to social gatherings or walking along the beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unexploded ordnance<\/a>, or UXO, are explosive weapons and devices that did not detonate when they were used in a conflict. They are often buried in the ground or lodged in places where they can remain hidden from view and undetected for decades. Yet their capacity to explode can be triggered at any time by physical pressure or disturbance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not all the country\u2019s more than 900 islands, that are today home to more than 720,000 people, were affected by the war. But, at the time, they were a British Protectorate and geopolitically crucial after World War II spread to the Pacific region<\/a> in 1941. The year after attacking Pearl Harbour, Japanese forces advanced in the Pacific and troops allied with Britain and the United States converged on the islands to wage a counteroffensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Major battles<\/a>\u00a0were waged on the main Guadalcanal Island. But there was fighting on land, sea and in the air across central and northern areas of the country until the Japanese retreated in 1943. Solomon Islanders, with their local knowledge of the terrain, were vital partners in the conflict, working alongside Allied forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today the islands harbour abandoned tanks and fighter planes and sunken battleships in tropical waters attract diving tourists. But every year islanders are killed and injured by the accidental detonation of ageing ordnance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2023, the Solomon Islands government partnered with The Halo Trust<\/a> to begin a nationwide survey and collect comprehensive data of where UXO are located. Emily Davis, Halo Trust\u2019s Programme Manager in the country, told IPS that investigations are currently focused on Guadalcanal Island and Western Province to the northwest, with extensive consultations taking place with local communities aided by historical records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve reported over 3,000 items so far, but that doesn\u2019t take into account over ten times that amount that has already been destroyed by the Solomon Islands police,\u201d she recounted. When ordnance is discovered, the explosives ordnance disposal team in the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force is notified to conduct its safe removal. Last year alone, they removed 5,400<\/a> potentially lethal items, including a large buried cache of projectiles<\/a> in the grounds of a school in Honiara.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Trust\u2019s work in the country, which is funded by the United States, also extends to educating<\/a> local communities about the risks and what to do if any devices are found. Schools are a particular focus, as \u201cthere are young children who have been known to play around and discover these things and sometimes they accidentally handle ordnance,\u201d Peter Teasanau, a Halo Trust Team Leader in Western Province told IPS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But organizing clearance of unearthed ordnance can take longer in remote rural areas, Teasanau explained. In Honiara, resources are close to hand, but in the outer islands, the police face the logistical challenges of difficult terrain and fewer roads and infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet, wherever it happens, the human toll of explosions can be crippling, whether in injuries and disability or loss of livelihoods. Before the incident, Pitanoe had a job in the distance education department of the Solomon Islands National University, but afterwards she could no longer endure the arduous travel to rural areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPhysically, I am not fit for that now,\u201d she said. Instead, she decided to turn her plight into an opportunity. \u201cI have experienced something that no one would like to experience in their life, but I came out of it and I\u2019d like to raise awareness,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This year, Pitanoe launched a civil society organization, called Bomb Free Solomon Islands<\/a>, to support UXO victims and \u201cfeed hope and fund recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite still seeking funding, the organization has 20 members, all of whom are facing hardships. Some are widows who struggle to find the money to continue sending their children to school. Others face disability and have less money to pay for food and living expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are broader impacts of UXO in the country, too. The Solomon Islands is a developing country that has been striving to recover and rebuild following a civil conflict, known as the \u2018Tensions,\u2019 which occurred from 1998-2003. Ageing UXO contamination is an extra burden that can restrict access to agricultural land, diminishing rural incomes and food security, and disrupt national development. And as ordnance decays, it can leak toxic substances<\/a>, such as heavy metals, into the surrounding soil and waterways with detrimental consequences for human, plant and aquatic life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Davis says that, while there is a lot of work ahead, it will be impossible to find and remove every piece of ordnance in the country. \u201cThe scale [of contamination] is too severe, but we are supporting the reduction of risk,\u201d she said. And the UXO map they are completing \u201cwill guide future efforts to more systematically clear ordnance and this can help develop infrastructure or community development projects,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is difficult and painstaking work that requires specialized expertise and major funding, and securing access to the resources needed is an issue facing other countries<\/a> in the region as well. Papua New Guinea and Palau, for instance, are also grappling with UXO contamination and regional leaders argue that, as the ordnance was imposed on their nations, the responsibility of dealing with it should be shared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Image-4-Maeverlyn-Pitanoe-Bomb-Free-Solomon-Islands-Honiara-2025.jpg\")
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